Research Study On Why Cats Get Adopted

[margd]

Science has an intriguing article on research studying why cats get adopted. The researchers had previously discovered that dogs who raised their eyebrows were more likely to get adopted than those who didn't and were curious to know if something similar was going on with cats. They developed the Cat Facial Action Coding System and used it to evaluate 106 shelter cats.

What they found was fascinating. Cat expressions did not appear to influence adoptibility - instead cats who rubbed their bodies against furniture and toys in their pens were adopted about 30% more quickly than cats who didn't. The study is fairly small so it's more of a hint towards what's going on, rather than the definitive last word - it would be terrific if the study was expanded but the article doesn't mention if there are plans to do so.

The research group's focus of interest is evolutionary psychology rather than a specific interest in what helps shelter pets get adopted faster but every little bit helps.

 

[abyeb]

I guess that makes sense, it makes the cats seem more friendly. Charlie climbed up the side of the cage when I walked by and I immediately thought, "he chose me!"

 

[maggiedemi]

I know I would adopt a cat quicker if it hopped right up on my lap. I miss my childhood lap kitty.

 

[weebeasties]

All of our cats have been of the "he just showed up one day" variety except the last 2. Isabelle meowed at us and reached through the bars to grab my hair. When we opened her cage she leapt out and landed on my shoulder. She very obviously was ready to go! Sam was trying to scratch at tiny piece of cloth on his cage and it broke my heart that he had nothing in there to play with. Then he shyly looked up at me and it was all over. It was instant love! When I picked him up he gave me kisses and nestled against me. I have been his since that day.
I would guess that if they were in an open room where they could walk around, they would have acted much different than they did in those little cages. It makes me wonder if I would have still chosen those two. I hope so. I wouldn't trade them for the world!

 

[arouetta]

The SPCA that I adopted Montressor and Midway from started out with signs saying not to stick fingers in cages due to the risk of spreading disease. But that seemed to be the main way people found friendly cats. By the time I adopted Midway the worker in the room was downright militant about fingers in cages. But they had built "petting rooms" where you could get to know a cat between Montressor and Midway, which didn't make the slightest bit of sense to me. You can't touch a cat in a cage to see if he or she is friendly enough you want to try the petting room with that cat, but you can get the cat germs all over you, not just a finger, and pass all those germs on to the next cat you take into the petting room. How's that more protective of disease???

But with Montressor, during a time the workers weren't so grrrr, I stuck a finger in his cage and somehow, I don't remember how, he placed his chin on my finger and somehow did a figure 8 to pet his entire body on my finger without moving his chin. That's what got him adopted.

 

[kittens mom]

I don't know they had to fish Mercy ( the Fluffy ) out of her cage by the scruff of her neck.

 

[maggiedemi]

LOL, what made you pick Mercy, besides her being so pretty?

 

[kittens mom]

LOL, what made you pick Mercy, besides her being so pretty?

I adopted her 3 days after Kittens cremation. Fluffy, ewww, was returned for being anti social, aggressive, growling and biting. We needed each other. Here she is home about an hour laying by one of my favorite pictures of Kitten.

 

[maggiedemi]

Awww how could anyone return her? She's perfect...

 

[kittens mom]

Awww how could anyone return her? She's perfect...

My experience is with horses for the most part. The best ones are the ones that picked me.
Mercy looks like a stuffie and my best guess is they were treating her like one. She doesn't like to be held but spends a great deal of time on my lap and sleeps by head on the pillow reaching out to touch my cheek constantly.
More interesting in the study of why someone picked a cat is if that behavior led to a successful match.

 

[IndyJones]

For me I like cats who are cuddly and love to be held. I don't really care if an animal is special needs or not both my guys have special needs, Kabby had emotional issues from his former owners and Indy is a chronic herpes/asthma cat so she needs help pacing herself so she doesn't have an attack which is easier said than done, she is a livewire. She is so cuddly it's hard to believe she is a former feral born to fully feral parents.

 

[Kieka]

Link was the only cat who didn't randomly wind up in our home. When I was looking for a kitten, before I found Link, I looked for ones who were alert and interactive with the world around them. That was usually the one who ran up to strangers or tried to play with fingers. Oddly enough my girl and my Moms cat would not be that type in a shelter. They would both hide in the corner. I love them both and they are perfectly imperfect cats in their own ways. But I wouldn't have picked either of them out.

 

[kittens mom]

Each of us have different needs just like the cats. Just being friendly isn't a thing for me. There has to be that moment when you know. Mercy and myself locked eyes the second she was handed to me and that was it. They had to pry her off to get her ready to go home with me. There has to be that emotional bonding beyond being what you expect because that's what makes them family no matter what.

 

[denice]

Neither of my kitties came out of a shelter, they were rescued by people I knew who couldn't keep them. In a shelter I tend to gravitate to kitties that aren't generally seen as being as adoptable. The black kitties, the older cats, the ones that aren't considered 'cute', and the special needs cats.

 

[daisyd]

When we went to collect gracie (she was a tiny ball of fur) my partner picked her up and she bit him (he looked at me and asked: 'are they supposed to do that?' ) . Haha, I thought he annoys me too and fell in love with her

 

[cheeser]

When we deliberately set out to adopt a cat, I tend to gravitate to the ones that make me laugh, and are pretty obnoxious about getting our attention. I just find that enthusiasm weirdly endearing.

But sometimes cats have a way of adopting us, and I guess it's that same brazen enthusiasm that gets them in the door. ;-)

 

[arouetta]

But sometimes cats have a way of adopting us, and I guess it's that same brazen enthusiasm that gets them in the door. ;-)

I'll agree with that. That's how I got Shadow, she claimed us and our home as hers as I stood in shock that a cat just walked right by me into my condo.

 

[maggiedemi]

My cat Maggie did that. She actually knocked on the door! But she was in heat, I don't think she would have even approached us if she wasn't in heat, since she was very feral.

 

[daisyd]

My cat Maggie did that. She actually knocked on the door! But she was in heat, I don't think she would have even approached us if she wasn't in heat, since she was very feral.

She was feral however came to your door ? I need to start a thread I think with: how did your cat adopt you ? As all this sounds interesting

 

[haleyds]

The SPCA that I adopted Montressor and Midway from started out with signs saying not to stick fingers in cages due to the risk of spreading disease. But that seemed to be the main way people found friendly cats. By the time I adopted Midway the worker in the room was downright militant about fingers in cages. But they had built "petting rooms" where you could get to know a cat between Montressor and Midway, which didn't make the slightest bit of sense to me. You can't touch a cat in a cage to see if he or she is friendly enough you want to try the petting room with that cat, but you can get the cat germs all over you, not just a finger, and pass all those germs on to the next cat you take into the petting room. How's that more protective of disease???

But with Montressor, during a time the workers weren't so grrrr, I stuck a finger in his cage and somehow, I don't remember how, he placed his chin on my finger and somehow did a figure 8 to pet his entire body on my finger without moving his chin. That's what got him adopted.

I've actually had very similar experiences with the SPCA, they're almost insane with the way they think about cats. Our local animal shelter is much, much better. They have three huge open cat rooms and rotate which ones get to be in there every day so all of their cats get free time. They have little hand sanitizer machines on the wall and you have to clean your hands before and after entering but that's for human safety, as the cats that are up for adoption have all been vaccinated and it's okay to touch them! Which is the whole point of going to pick out a cat, to touch them and socialize with them! How in the world am I supposed to know if I want to be around a specific cat if I can't even interact with it in it's cage?